The UK At The Tipping Point? The UK’s First National Crowdfunding Conference

The UK’s first National Crowdfunding Conference will take place on 26 February.

“Crowdfunding: Deep Impact” will spotlight, and put under the microscope, the meteoric rise of Crowdfunding against the backdrop of a failing economy, and challenge the government, regulators and other major players to act quickly to support this hugely important innovation.

Featuring keynote speakers from the CBI, Government, VC & Angel communities, academia and the Crowdfunding industry, the conference will be a landmark event.

The brainchild of AngelRevolutions CEO Barry James, it is being run in partnership with Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire.

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“Crowdfunding is in its infancy in the UK, it’s already making a huge impact here and a yet bigger one in the USA,” said James. “Yet the research is telling us this is just the beginning of something with the potential to become a major force in the economy of the UK, and worldwide.

“David Cameron, and the whole nation, are expecting entrepreneurs to become the engine of change to take us out of recession. With the banks in retreat crowdfunding, and the way we handle and embrace it, could be crucial for the future for us all.

“This will be a landmark event; the first opportunity to explore the full potential to fund UK entrepreneurs and business – where the banks have failed to.”

This inaugural conference will feature keynotes from Matthew Fell, Director of the CBI, Julie Meyer, CEO of Ariadne Capital, MP Barry Sheerman, Luke Johnson Chair of Risk Capital Partners & ex Chair Channel4 & the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts) and conference organiser Barry James, who also writes on business funding for RealBusiness.co.uk

It will also see the entrepreneurs behind the UK’s most successful Crowdfunding platforms coming together to combine and share their insights, knowledge and experience of this revolutionary new funding source.

Worldwide crowdfunding is making a major impact with an estimated 700 Crowdfunding platforms springing up by the close of 2012 and commentators seeing it as a new, more democratic, capitalism.

Deloitte UK also published a report this week revealing Crowdfunding will raise £1.9billion in 2013, and a NESTA report predicts around £15 billion of finance per year in the UK.

NESTA’s report “Crowding In” based on trends through 2012, indicates that Crowdfunding could deliver a huge shot-in-the-arm to startups and UK businesses worth billions over the next three to five years. Further building from there to become one of the most significant forces in the UK economy.

Their summary says “The real growth lies ahead. It is possible that within five years, Crowdfunding could provide around £15 billion of finance per year in the UK. With the right frameworks and standards, this could grow even further, and a day could come where crowdfunding replaces a large proportion of the £115 billion financial services industry.”

The conference, which brings together leading entrepreneurs, academics, investor networks and VCs with those pioneering Crowdfunding, will provide a new forum for an explosion in awareness of this new model, its potential, and how it can be used by entrepreneurs and businesses.

It’s the first major opportunity for thought-leaders and key players to come together and match insights to make sense of this new ‘disruptive’ wave of social media and the Internet, and its increasing impact on money and finance. Crowdfunding has already made a deep impact. The implications, and potential for further impact, on the economy and us all, are enormous.